The present invention relates to power transmission assemblies and more particularly to new and useful control apparatus included in power transmission assemblies adapted to move select parts of hospital beds.
It is generally known in the power assembly art to combine an assembly arrangement which includes a motor drive and a moveable parts actuator with a gear train therebetween, the assembly arrangement further including control apparatus for the assembly motor drive, such control apparatus being composed of a housing incorporating a switch and a switch actuating mechanism. The general power assembly arrangement aforedescribed has been employed to move several parts of a hospital bed, for example, to raise and lower the head of a bed relative the foot or vice versa or to raise or lower a bed frame--a wand switch connected to the control apparatus of the power transmission assembly for accomplishing such functions often being available to the hospitalized patient if the nature of a patient's illness so permits. The present invention recognizes that the control apparatus for such power transmission assemblies have given rise to occasional problems, particularly in situations where the control apparatus has been "blind assembled" in a single enclosed walled housing chamber which chamber is desirably compact in weight and size but yet must contain connection leads, a switch connected to the motor drive and to a patient user' s wand and a switch actuating mechanism connected to the gear train between motor drive and the parts actuator. Specifically, the present invention recognizes that jamming and misoperation can occur among the several parts when they are "blindly assembled" in the compact enclosure.
Recognizing this bothersome and possibly costly problem, the present invention provides a unique, compact control apparatus for a power transmission assembly which is straightforward and economical to manufacture and assemble, which is light in weight and which avoids the jamming problems which might otherwise occur in "blind assembly."
Various other features of the present invention will become obvious to one skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forth hereinafter.